Start with Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov and free SHIP counseling, because Medicare Advantage plans are sold by county and the right plan depends on your ZIP code, doctors and drugs. Among national carriers, Humana has 95% of members in contracts rated 4 stars or higher for 2027 and the widest county footprint, and Kaiser Permanente has the highest ratings where it operates. Choose a plan rated 4 stars or more that covers your doctors and drugs, and if your plan is leaving, pick a new one by December 7.
This guide is for people choosing or switching a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027. We compared insurers on CMS's 2027 Star Ratings, released October 8, 2026, how widely they sell plans and how many counties they are leaving or entering for 2027.
Medicare Advantage plans replace Original Medicare with a private plan that usually includes drug coverage, a network and a yearly out-of-pocket limit. Company averages only go so far: two plans from the same insurer can carry very different ratings, and the plans offered change by county and by year.
Below you will find the free public tools to use first, the 2027 star ratings by company, each insurer's strengths and weak spots, the enrollment dates that matter and what to do if your plan is ending.
Free help to check first: Plan Finder and SHIP counseling
Medicare Advantage plans are local. The plans, premiums and networks you can choose depend on your county, so no national ranking can tell you which plan is right for you. Start with the free public tools before you talk to any company or agent.
- Medicare Plan Finder. Go to Medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code and add every drug you take. It shows each plan’s premium, estimated yearly drug costs and its star rating, and you can enroll there.
- SHIP counseling. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program gives free one-on-one Medicare counseling. Medicare.gov notes that SHIPs are not connected to any insurance company or health plan. Find yours at shiphelp.org.
- Medicare itself. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to compare plans or enroll.
Ask any plan you are considering to confirm that your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies are in network for 2027, since networks can change each year.
2027 Medicare Advantage star ratings by company
CMS rates each Medicare Advantage contract from 1 to 5 stars on up to 43 quality and service measures. The 2027 Star Ratings were released on October 8, 2026 and are the ratings you will see in Plan Finder during the 2027 Open Enrollment. Nationally, 37% of plans with drug coverage earned 4 stars or more, and about 71% of members are in contracts rated 4 stars or higher. Only 15 contracts earned 5 stars, down from 22 the year before.
| Company (CMS parent organization) |
Members in 4+ star contracts |
Star range |
Weighted average |
| Kaiser Permanente |
100% |
4 to 5 |
4.48 |
| Humana |
95% |
3 to 4.5 |
4.18 |
| Aetna (CVS Health) |
70% |
2.5 to 4.5 |
3.99 |
| UnitedHealthcare (UnitedHealth Group) |
68% |
2.5 to 5 |
3.93 |
| Anthem (Elevance Health) |
47% |
2.5 to 5 |
3.81 |
| HealthSpring and Blue plans (Health Care Service Corporation) |
13% |
2.5 to 4 |
3.39 |
| Molina Healthcare |
9% |
2.5 to 4.5 |
Not published |
How we counted: we matched each rated contract in CMS’s 2027 Summary Ratings file to its September 2026 enrollment in CMS’s monthly enrollment report, then grouped by parent organization. Contracts too new to be rated are left out. Companies and news outlets sometimes report slightly different figures because they use other enrollment months; Humana’s own figure, 95%, matches ours. A company’s average says little about the plan in your county, so always check the rating of the specific plan in Plan Finder.
How to choose a Medicare Advantage plan
- List your doctors, hospitals and drugs. Medicare Advantage plans usually require you to use the plan’s network and may need prior approval for some services or drugs.
- Search your ZIP code in Plan Finder. Compare total estimated yearly cost, not just the premium. A $0-premium plan can still have higher copays or a higher out-of-pocket limit.
- Check the star rating of the exact plan. A 4-star or higher plan has met CMS quality thresholds; plans marked with CMS’s low-performing icon have had consistently low ratings.
- Read the yearly out-of-pocket limit. Medicare Advantage plans include a yearly limit on what you pay for covered services, and the limit differs from plan to plan.
- Check extra benefits carefully. Many plans include dental, vision and hearing, but several large carriers reduced some of these for 2027, according to Healthcare Dive’s review of plan data.
- Think about travel. If you live in another state for part of the year, ask whether the plan covers you there.
When you can join or switch
- Initial Enrollment Period. Generally a 7-month window around your 65th birthday: 3 months before, your birthday month and 3 months after. You need both Part A and Part B to join a Medicare Advantage plan.
- Open Enrollment (Annual Enrollment Period). October 15 to December 7. You can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Changes start January 1. For 2027 coverage, this runs October 15 to December 7, 2026.
- Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. January 1 to March 31, only if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan. You can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare and join a drug plan.
- 5-star Special Enrollment Period. If a plan rated 5 stars overall is offered where you live, you can switch to it once between December 8 of the year before and November 30 of the plan year. Check whether a 5-star plan exists in your ZIP code; for 2027 only 15 Medicare Advantage drug plan contracts nationwide have that rating.
- Other Special Enrollment Periods. Moving, losing other coverage, getting Medicaid or Extra Help, or your plan leaving Medicare can open a window outside the usual dates.
What to do if your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving
Insurers are cutting plans again for 2027. KFF counted these county exits for plans with drug coverage: Health Care Service Corporation 498 counties, Centene 359, UnitedHealth Group 228, CVS Health (Aetna) 186, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 177, Elevance Health 66 and Humana 62. Molina is leaving the general Medicare Advantage drug plan market entirely, keeping only plans for people who also have Medicaid. Healthcare Dive reports that more than 3 million seniors are in a plan that was ended or left their county for 2027. Humana told investors about 600,000 of its members are in plans that end.
If you got a notice that your plan will not be offered in 2027:
- Do not ignore it. If you do nothing, you will be moved to Original Medicare when the plan ends, and you may be left without drug coverage.
- Pick a new plan during Open Enrollment. Choosing by December 7, 2026 lets new coverage start January 1, 2027 with no gap.
- You also get a Special Enrollment Period. When a plan’s contract with Medicare is not renewed, Medicare.gov says you can switch to another plan between December 8 and the last day of February of the following year.
- Consider Original Medicare plus Medigap. If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Medicare or stops covering your area, you have a guaranteed issue right to buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K or L sold in your state (C and F only if you were eligible for Medicare before 2020): the insurer must sell you a policy and cover pre-existing conditions. Apply as early as 60 days before your plan coverage ends and no later than 63 days after it ends. These rights apply only if you switch to Original Medicare rather than another Medicare Advantage plan.
- Get free help. A SHIP counselor can walk through your options at no cost.
The alternative: Original Medicare plus Medigap
Original Medicare (Parts A and B) lets you use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare. You can add a separate Part D drug plan and a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy that helps pay your 20% coinsurance and other gaps. You cannot have a Medigap policy and a Medicare Advantage plan at the same time.
- Pros. You can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, with no plan network, and standardized Medigap policies renew automatically as long as you pay the premium.
- Cons. You pay the Part B premium ($202.90 a month in 2026) plus Medigap and Part D premiums. Medicare Advantage plans build in a yearly out-of-pocket limit; with Original Medicare, Medigap is what fills most of the gaps. Extra benefits like dental and vision are usually not part of Original Medicare.
- Timing matters. The best time to buy Medigap is your 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which starts the month you are 65 or older and have Part B. After that window, Medicare.gov says your options may be limited and a policy may cost more, unless you have a guaranteed issue right. Plans C and F are not available to people new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.
Red flags when shopping for Medicare Advantage
- Anyone who calls you unprompted about Medicare plans or asks for your Medicare number before you have decided.
- Ads that promise extra cash or giveback amounts without naming the plan; benefits vary by plan and county, and several carriers cut Part B givebacks for 2027.
- Pressure to enroll before you have checked your doctors and drugs in Plan Finder.
- A plan with the CMS low-performing icon, which marks consistently low ratings. Four contracts carry it for 2027.
- Claims that a company is “the best” without pointing to the specific plan’s star rating in your area.
Terms to know
- Medicare Advantage (Part C)
- A Medicare-approved private plan that bundles Part A, Part B and usually Part D coverage, often with a network and extra benefits.
- Star Rating
- CMS's 1 to 5 star quality score for each Medicare Advantage and drug plan contract, updated every October.
- MA-PD
- A Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D prescription drug coverage.
- Special Needs Plan (SNP)
- A Medicare Advantage plan limited to people with certain conditions, institutional care needs, or both Medicare and Medicaid.
- Medigap
- Medicare Supplement Insurance that helps pay costs Original Medicare does not, such as the 20% coinsurance.
- Guaranteed issue right
- A situation, such as your Medicare Advantage plan leaving your area, in which a Medigap insurer must sell you a policy and cover pre-existing conditions.
- SHIP
- State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which gives free, unbiased Medicare counseling.
- Low-performing icon
- A CMS flag in Plan Finder for plans with consistently low quality ratings.
